Better to remain silent and be thought a fool
Graham J Weeks
It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your
mouth
and remove all doubt .
-- George Eliot
but a reader sent me
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and
remove
all doubt.
Abraham Lincoln (also attr. Confucius)
So is it madam GE, Abe of the ancient sage?
--
Graham J Weeks
http://www.weeks-g.dircon.co.uk/ My homepage of quotations
http://www.grace.org.uk/churches/ealing.html Our church
http://www.onelist.com/subscribe.cgi/Christiansquoting Daily quotes
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The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.
Plato
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Robert M. Wilson
"Graham J Weeks" <wee...@dircon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:39206F93...@dircon.co.uk...
> I have on my url,
> It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your
> mouth
> and remove all doubt .
> -- George Eliot
>
> but a reader sent me
>
> Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and
> remove
> all doubt.
> Abraham Lincoln (also attr. Confucius)
>
> So is it madam GE, Abe of the ancient sage?
cf:
Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that
shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding. -- Bible, 'Proverbs'
17:28.
Dave Kifer
>
>I have on my url,
>It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your
>mouth
>and remove all doubt .
>-- George Eliot
>
>but a reader sent me
>
>Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and
>remove
>all doubt.
>Abraham Lincoln (also attr. Confucius)
>
>So is it madam GE, Abe of the ancient sage?
I'm going to add to your problems, since I have it as:
"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a
fool than to open it and remove all doubt."
-- Mark Twain (1835-1910)
Dave [p&e]
"Tam multi libri, tam breve tempus!"
(Et brevis pecunia.) [Et breve spatium.]
Glenn Knickerbocker
Engel. Anybody have a clue who that is? All I've found in searching for
that name is the same quote--with identical wording and punctuation--on
four (apparently) unrelated sites:
http://cyber-nation.com/victory/quotations/authors/quotes_engel_silvan.html
http://cheshire.net/~chuckn/tim/quotes.htm
http://www.cyberquotations.com/quotes2.htm
http://qlink.queensu.ca/~6ceb3/library/MFQ.txt
> It is better to be silent, and be thought a fool,
> than to speak and remove all doubt.
Not a single hit on "Silvan" and "Engel" in any library catalog I've tried
(including LoC). Is this just an experimental memetic mutant quotation
virus?
ŹR http://www.bestweb.net/~notr/dreams.poems.html
"They must be mad. They sing choruses in public!"
On 15 May 2000 00:00:00 GMT, Robert M. Wilson wrote:
>"Graham J Weeks" <wee...@dircon.co.uk> wrote in message
>news:39206F93...@dircon.co.uk...
>> I have on my url,
>> It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your
>> mouth
>> and remove all doubt .
>> -- George Eliot
>>
>> but a reader sent me
>>
>> Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and
>> remove
>> all doubt.
>> Abraham Lincoln (also attr. Confucius)
>>
>> So is it madam GE, Abe of the ancient sage?
>
Glenn Knickerbocker
Searching on George Eliot, I found this quote attributed to a Silvan
Engel. Anybody have a clue who that is? All I've found in searching for
that name is the same quote--with identical wording and punctuation--on
four (apparently) unrelated sites:
http://cyber-nation.com/victory/quotations/authors/quotes_engel_silvan.html
http://cheshire.net/~chuckn/tim/quotes.htm
http://www.cyberquotations.com/quotes2.htm
http://qlink.queensu.ca/~6ceb3/library/MFQ.txt
> It is better to be silent, and be thought a fool,
> than to speak and remove all doubt.
Not a single hit on "Silvan" and "Engel" in any library catalog I've tried
(including LoC). Is this just an experimental memetic mutant quotation
virus?
Since last month, it's shown up on lots more sites, again always with the
exact same wording and punctuation:
http://geocities.com/~spanoudi/quote-11a.html
http://www.zenda.demon.co.uk/cookie
http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/~bigmike/quotes1.txt
http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/pm3u/jokes/quotes
http://www.utahcard.com/magazine/reference/quote_line/wisdom/
http://home.planetinternet.be/~smitsr/quotes/wisdom.html
http://www.mail-archive.com/ccquotations%40onelist.com/msg00052.html
http://variant.tierranet.com/quotes/mquotes_misc_d.html
http://www.4degreez.com/quotes/quotes_misc.mv
http://www.angelfire.com/ny/cyberquotes/quotes2.html
Plus a bunch with the usual Lincoln variant:
> Better to remain silent and be thought a fool
> than to speak out and remove all doubt.
http://www.angelfire.com/wv/healthywealthywise/quotesa.html
http://www.kniskern.com/Robin/Words/good_quotations.htm
http://www.sleepwalker.net/quotes/index.php3?p=quotes&keyword=&source=&cid=wisdom&last=&flags=&offset=80&limit=20
http://www.tuvy.com/entertainment/coolquotes/wisdom/wisdom_5.htm
http://home.uchicago.edu/~cwwu/quotes.html
saying that Lincoln was quoting Silvan Engel. But still not a word about
who this Engel was!
ŹR http://www.bestweb.net/~notr/dreams.poems.html / "Hush!
They sing choruses in public. That's mad enough, I think."
Graham J Weeks
Glenn Knickerbocker wrote:
> Trying this one again, not content to remain silent:
>
> Searching on George Eliot, I found this quote attributed to a Silvan
> Engel. Anybody have a clue who that is? All I've found in searching for
> that name is the same quote--with identical wording and punctuation--on
> four (apparently) unrelated sites:
snip
Does anyone anywhere cite any source to prove the attribution?
Obquote
Mary had a little lamb,
It's fleece was white as snow.
She took it to an abatoir
The rest I'm sure you know........
--
Graham J Weeks
http://www.weeks-g.dircon.co.uk/ My homepage of quotations
http://www.grace.org.uk/churches/ealing.html Our church
http://www.onelist.com/subscribe.cgi/Christiansquoting Daily quotes
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have taken a vow of poverty. To annoy me send money.
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Christopher Brown
>
> Glenn Knickerbocker wrote:
>
> > Trying this one again, not content to remain silent:
> >
> > Searching on George Eliot, I found this quote attributed to a Silvan
> > Engel. Anybody have a clue who that is? All I've found in searching for
> > that name is the same quote--with identical wording and punctuation--on
> > four (apparently) unrelated sites:
>
> snip
>
> Does anyone anywhere cite any source to prove the attribution?
I've looked ... and looked ... and ... well, I've never found any sort of attribution
for Lincoln, or Eliot (the two more popular choices).
Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his
lips is esteemed a man of understanding.
~ Hebrew Bible, Proverbs 17:28
--
======================================
Christopher Brown
What if the hokey pokey is really what it's all about?
Glenn Knickerbocker
>Does anyone anywhere cite any source to prove the attribution?
Of course not! Otherwise there wouldn't be this wild goose chase. George
Eliot is almost certainly wrong; this sentiment runs directly counter to
her inquisitive nature. I was hoping this name Silvan Engel might lead to
a source, but I haven't found it anywhere except in these two forms of the
quotation. So the question is: Was there really a Silvan Engel, and
where do we find his or her writings?
ŹR "People late for work only deal with the essentials, cutting away
uneccesary tasks like Occam's Razor with no time to shave." --oTTo-- Bahn
Christopher Brown
news:qmbhlso29bkaijgmo...@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 27 Jun 2000 07:35:17 +0100, Graham J Weeks wrote:
> >Does anyone anywhere cite any source to prove the attribution?
>
> Of course not! Otherwise there wouldn't be this wild goose chase. George
> Eliot is almost certainly wrong; this sentiment runs directly counter to
> her inquisitive nature. I was hoping this name Silvan Engel might lead to
> a source, but I haven't found it anywhere except in these two forms of the
> quotation. So the question is: Was there really a Silvan Engel, and
> where do we find his or her writings?
Not the Library of Congress apparently. I just did a search there with no luck.
(*stretching for an ObQuote ...*)
"An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory."
~ Friedrich Engels, quoted in: Reg Groves, The Strange Case of Victor Grayson
(1975)
Morgan Lewis
>
> Graham J Weeks <wee...@dircon.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:39584B24...@dircon.co.uk...
>
> of attribution for Lincoln, or Eliot (the two more popular choices).
>
Pick somebody who's quoted a lot. Lincoln, Twain, Franklin, anybody.
Five'll get you ten that *somebody* has mistakenly attributed this quote
to them. I have absolutely no idea who actually said it, which is why I
have it currently under "anonymous" on my page. :)
> Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that
> shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.
> ~ Hebrew Bible, Proverbs 17:28
>
Hmm.. well, that might be what it's derived from. So at least we're
making some progress. :)
ObQuote:
SOCRATES (469 B.C.-399 B.C., Philosopher)
1. True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing. And in
knowing that you know nothing, that makes you the smartest of all.
--
----------------------------------------------------------------
Morgan Lewis m...@efn.org mle...@gladstone.uoregon.edu
mle...@cs.uoregon.edu http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~mlewis/
Visit the Eclectic Quotes Page at the above URL.
Richard Harding
Better to say nothing and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove
all doubt.
RH
Glenn Knickerbocker wrote:
>
> Trying this one again, not content to remain silent:
>
> Searching on George Eliot, I found this quote attributed to a Silvan
> Engel. Anybody have a clue who that is? All I've found in searching for
> that name is the same quote--with identical wording and punctuation--on
> four (apparently) unrelated sites:
>
Glenn Knickerbocker
>I had always thought it was Wilde:
on the two of them together I found it attributed to Groucho Marx at:
http://www.louisville.edu/~edmean01/quotes.html
ŹR Time is not my friend, time is a relative.
http://www.bestweb.net/~notr/dreams.poems.html
Frank Lynch
> On Sun, 09 Jul 2000 03:09:42 GMT, Richard Harding wrote:
> >I had always thought it was Wilde:
> Interesting. I've never heard it attributed to Wilde, but searching
> on the two of them together I found it attributed to Groucho Marx at:
> http://www.louisville.edu/~edmean01/quotes.html
And today I saw it attributed to Johnson at
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Corridor/3379/quote.html
And I checked the CD-ROM and no, it's not him.
Regrettably a date on the site suggests it hasn't been updated in nearly
two years, so I doubt I'll be able to get this one cleaned up.
And today I also ran across another non-Johnson (as opposed to Don
Johnson), but attributed to him: "The man who would go to sea for
pleasure would go to hell for a pastime." And this from a boating page
that is now two and a half years old...
However, we do know that Johnson starred in a 50's TV show with Boswell
called The Highland Roamers; Johnson was a bus driver and lived upstairs
from Boswell and would yell out the window and tell Boz to get up here
etc and then lecture him on why he would never amount to anything, how
Bos had drank too much the night before etc
Frank Lynch
--
The Samuel Johnson Sound Bite Page is at:
http://www.samueljohnson.com/
Eric Arnett
> Trying this one again, not content to remain silent:
>
> Searching on George Eliot, I found this quote attributed to a Silvan
> Engel. Anybody have a clue who that is? All I've found in searching for
> that name is the same quote--with identical wording and punctuation--on
> four (apparently) unrelated sites:
>
ago)
It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, then to open your mouth
and remove all doubt.
- Mark Twain
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm not a cannibal. I prefer the term humanitarian.
- Phil Laton
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Glenn Knickerbocker
>Long ago I pulled this quote from this news group (were talking like 8 years
>ago)
>
>It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, then to open your mouth
>and remove all doubt.
>- Mark Twain
Which is probably incorrect, as are most attributions to Twain, Churchill,
or Berra.
ŹR / Darla: Leftovers aren't the mark of a man. \ www.bestweb.net/~notr
Andrew Reid: Actually, they are, because that's how men's shirts button.
alohacyberian
--
(-:alohacyberian:-) At my website there are 3000 live cameras or
visit NASA, play games, read jokes, send greeting cards & connect
to CNN news, NBA, the White House, Academy Awards or learn all
about Hawaii, Israel and more: http://keith.martin.home.att.net/
"Glenn Knickerbocker" <No...@bestweb.net> wrote in message
news:r832nsck2bcli1v84...@4ax.com...
Glenn Knickerbocker
>It's an old Yiddish expression predating Twain. KM
Now THAT sounds likely. Got documentation?
"I believe the children are our future: nasty, brutish and short."
ŹR http://www.bestweb.net/~notr/dreams.poems.html \ --The Onion
Reginleif the Valkyrie
> "I believe the children are our future: nasty, brutish and short."
> --The Onion
Quite off-topic, that reminds me...
http://www.theonion.com/onion3625/harry_potter.html
Devout Christians might find a few of the "quotations" offensive. Or
maybe same quotations will confirm what they'd known all along.
ObQuote:
I form every statement around those people with the care of a Jesuit
trying to persuade Satan to give back Faust's soul.
-- J.A. Hill, friend of mine, speaking about his co-workers, email of
July 27, 2000
Reginleif
Glenn Knickerbocker
more since June, but I've still found absolutely no other references to
someone named Silvan Engel.
"I believe the children are our future: nasty, brutish and short."
ŹR / http://www.bestweb.net/~notr/engel.html \ --The Onion
On Tue, 27 Jun 2000 05:43:38 GMT, I wrote:
>Trying this one again, not content to remain silent:
>
>Searching on George Eliot, I found this quote attributed to a Silvan
>Engel. Anybody have a clue who that is? All I've found in searching for
>that name is the same quote--with identical wording and punctuation--on
>four (apparently) unrelated sites:
>
>http://cyber-nation.com/victory/quotations/authors/quotes_engel_silvan.html
>http://cheshire.net/~chuckn/tim/quotes.htm
>http://www.cyberquotations.com/quotes2.htm
>http://qlink.queensu.ca/~6ceb3/library/MFQ.txt
>
>> It is better to be silent, and be thought a fool,